Factors Impacting Effective Technology Use: School Climate – Shared Vision

How effective is the shared vision for using digital resources in the classroom on your campus? Consider the technology vision statement below for a sample school like many I have visited around the nation, ABC Middle School.

We envision using technology to further a learning community where: 

1. Students are engaged in a challenging curriculum that is focused on inquiry-based, hands-on learning, are comfortable and proficient using technology, and take responsibility for their own learning and educational success. 
2. Teachers use technology to support all learning across the curriculum through their role as coaches, mentors, advocates, and managers of information. Through on-going, comprehensive professional development, all teachers acquire the knowledge and skills to integrate technology into a challenging and interdisciplinary curriculum which addresses students' specific needs, developmental levels and learning styles. 

If I told you that after five-years of implementing the technology plan associated with this vision statement, the campus’ primary LoTi (Levels of Teaching Innovation) level was at a LoTi 2: Exploration, what conclusions might you draw? Clearly, the above vision statement aligns with a LoTi 6: Refinement implementation; not a LoTi 2.

What do you think could possibly have happened between creating and implementing the vision statement? Choose one answer.

1. The vision was most likely created by the building principal and/or outside vendor with little collaboration from faculty. 
2. Faculty members were not engaged in developing the corresponding technology plan that aligned with the vision statement. 
3. Decision-making relating to technology purchases and professional development seldom referenced the adopted vision for technology. 
4. PLC meetings seldom used the vision for technology as the platform for discussions about technology integration strategies. 
5. Campus walkthroughs and/or teacher evaluation rubrics did not integrate the key "look-fors" embedded in the vision for technology. 

If you selected A, B, C, D, or E...you are correct. A carefully, worded mission statement or vision, if implemented without input and continuous feedback from all key stakeholders, will remain just that—a statement, rather than a living document for change.

In the LoTi Digital Age Survey 20th Anniversary Edition, a comparative analysis will be conducted to determine if a correlation exists between the variable, Shared Vision for Using Digital Resources, and the variable, LoTi Level. My hunch is that a strong correlation will exist between teachers/leaders who collaborated in all facets of their technology vision process and implementation, and the corresponding higher LoTi Levels.

This blog post is the thirteenth in a series of fourteen online entries highlighting factors that impact the effective use of technology in today's classrooms. This series focuses on each of the research variables used to conduct comparative analyses as part of the LoTi Digital Age Survey 20th Anniversary Edition.

Factors Impacting Effective Technology Use: School Climate – Teacher Voice

One variable seldom mentioned is the importance of teacher voice in the ongoing conversation about digital age teaching and learning. In the business sector, voice is frequently viewed as the lynchpin for ongoing business growth. According to a cooperative report from the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) and Tomorrow's Company, Releasing Voice for Sustainable Business Success, employee voice "increases employee engagement, enables effective decision-making and drives innovation."

Relating the importance of voice to the classroom environment is fairly easy. Kahlenberg and Potter’s (2014) article, Why Teacher Voice Matters, provides a compelling argument about the connection between teacher voice and increased student achievement, lower teacher turnover, and the positive effects on school climate. From my perspective, the word, voice, can be easily substituted with the word, trust. When was the last time you heard someone on the job utter, "I don’t trust that person." What are they really saying? The interpretations are unlimited and unfortunately all negative.

As we move forward with elevating teaching innovation in the classroom using digital tools and resources, it is paramount that we consider the role of teacher voice at the operational curriculum level. The release of the LoTi Digital Age Survey 20th Anniversary Edition will pinpoint the correlation between teachers’ perception about their voice on campus and their corresponding teaching practices. If teacher voice proves significant, there are resources available to address the issue. Unfortunately, many of these solutions cannot be installed as quickly as a class set of mobile devices.

This blog post is the twelfth in a series of fourteen online entries highlighting factors that impact the effective use of technology in today's classrooms. This series focuses on each of the research variables used to conduct comparative analyses as part of the LoTi Digital Age Survey 20th Anniversary Edition.

Factors Impacting Effective Technology Use: School Climate – Communication

It is no secret that working in isolation is one of the historical trademarks of the teaching profession. Teaching from bell to bell, grabbing a quick lunch between conferencing with students or meeting with parents, or prepping for the next class period defines a typical teaching day. Regular PLC meetings and professional learning workshops afford teachers a chance to share and discover instructional technology strategies that have unlimited classroom potential, but teaching in isolation sometimes makes these new discoveries difficult to implement in practice. How many of us have concluded an inspiring professional development day with great intentions that fell flat upon returning to the classroom due to a lack of direction or continued support? What can be done to empower teachers and students to better integrate technology into everyday learning?

I recently read an article entitled, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-leading Principals, that provided a fresh take on how to inspire innovation rather than simply require the use of classroom technology. The habits include:

1. Create an atmosphere that inspires innovation
2. Foster collaboration
3. Be open to new ideas
4. Be a connected learner yourself
5. Locate and provide adequate resources
6. Take risks
7. Have a visionary focus

Building leaders who were able to model these "habits" and engage in regular two-way communication with staff changed the way their teachers now perceive and use technology in the classroom. Asking teachers to collaborate, take risks, or innovate is futile if the school climate doesn't support a two-way feedback cycle that involves teachers and administrators listening, modeling, coaching, sharing, and supporting best practices beyond their face-to-face interactions. It seems absurd that we would expect teachers to have students collaborate online or provide targeted student feedback if they aren't accustomed to modeling these behaviors professionally.

In the upcoming 20th Anniversary Edition of the LoTi Digital Age Survey, we ask respondents to rate the following statement from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree:

I engage in a two-way cycle of communication and feedback with my school administrators. 

Determining teachers’ perceptions about the level of two-way communication with their colleagues as well as with building leaders may therefore offer a glimpse as to possible roadblocks impeding or obstructing the level of teaching innovation on campus. It is the intent of the LoTi Digital Age Survey to generate sufficient data points to determine the role of two-way communication in the change process. As Jane Ripley notes, “Genuine collaboration is an environment that promotes communication, learning, maximum contribution, and innovation.” Stay tuned!

This blog post is the eleventh in a series of fourteen online entries highlighting factors that impact the effective use of technology in today's classrooms. This series focuses on each of the research variables used to conduct comparative analyses as part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the LoTi Digital Age Survey.